I have a long, complicated history with this film. It's the movie that turned me into the genre fan I am, but also one I refused to watch again for decades. Allow me to explain.
I was three when, for some reason I don't understand (given my mother's concerns about radiation coming out of early television sets), I was sat down in front of my grandmother's console black and white TV, to be babysat while the two talked. Yeah, I'm that old, and I'm not sure, but it might have had a turntable as well.
Yeah, this is what I remember.
So, I'm not going to lie, the movie scared the living hell out of three year old me. And, for some reason, I was hooked. Even though I had nightmares for weeks, much to the dismay of my parents, I kept trying to seek out such spooky offerings.
My mother tried to steer me away from such films, but her efforts failed. As a pre-teen, I kept switching the channel during commercials on sporting events to catch a glimpse of a creature feature on a different station. This lead to my mother allowing me to have a small black and white TV in my bedroom, so I could watch my movies while the rest of my family was watching something like Wide World of Sports. While it kept the peace in the living room, my mom still kept strict control over how often I could spend the afternoon in my room watching my TV. Not a problem, as Portland, OR, didn't offer much genre films back in the 70s and 80s, but at least I got to watch films like Creature from the Black Lagoon without switching back to some sports show.
And I stand by my choice. Why watch sports when you could watch THIS?
But I never sought out Invaders from Mars, even as the film became available on VHS. Because I was afraid re-watching it would ruin the memory I carried of being scared witless. And it was thanks to my library card.
I check out countless horror./sci fi books that I'd never be able to find in local bookstores at the time, and read about the movie. How it's slow, how you can see the zippers on the monster suits, how it's a grade-Z film. And I believed them. In fact, I thought the color photos in the books were publicity stills, as I was convinced the film was shot in black and white, as that's how I saw it years ago. And I was wrong.
I didn't want to see the film that made me a horror/sci fi/fantasy fan, as I worried re-watching it might ruin the person I became as a teen. It wasn't until the early 2010's, when I found it on a streaming site (I'm not sure if it was legal or not), and checked it out. And yes, the reviews I read were correct about some points. The film does drags in the final act, with too stock footage of the military mobilizing to take out the Martians are inserted into the film (more on that), and yes, I could see the zippers in the suits
But I also understand why the movie terrified me at such a young age. It's a well designed movie, showing the Martian invasion through the eyes of a young boy who witnesses a UFO landing in a sand pit behind his home, and suddenly, everyone around him is changing. And despite his pleas, no one believes him.
And that's why the film worked on me at such a young age. Director William Cameron Menzies shot the film from David's (Jimmy Hunt) point of view. His loving parents become cold and abusive, and as he tries to convince the local authorities, Menzies films them at low angles, so they tower over David while dismissing his concerns. We know they've been taken over by the Martians, but no one believes him, except for Dr. Pat Blake (Helena Carter, in her final film role, which is too bad; she's really good in the role), who takes him to astronomer Dr. Stuart Kelston (Arthur Franz, Monster on the Campus, Abbott and Costello meet the Invisible Man), who alerts the military the invasion is happening.
And while they believe David, it's up to him to foil the invasion and save his parents. Or does he? I'm not spoiling the ending of a 70 year old film, but it falls into a cliche that's been overused since the film came out.
To be honest, the film isn't scary to an adult. But put your mindset into your inner five year old, and it's terrifying. You know an invasion is happening, but you're just a kid. No one will believe you, and the authority figures are already under the control of the Martians. It's a nightmare waiting to happen, and you can't convince any adults to entertain your "fantasy" of an alien invasion. No one believes you, even as your parents come to claim you from jail, and it's obvious they're controlled by the invaders. It's some scary stuff, and Menzies' shots emphasize's David's distress to a harrowing point.
And the Martian leader is straight up nightmare fuel for a young kid.
So, after avoiding the film for so long, I fell in love with it once again. And I'm so glad Ignite Films has delivered a beautiful 4K remastering. Before now, it's been hard to find, with a region free DVD release the only way to see the film, unless you find it on some streaming service, both of which were a bit sketchy and the quality of the transfer was always lacking.
But this remaster looks AWESOME, as the colors pop out and the picture is crystal clear. And even wirth the addition of the military muscle being added (apparently Menzies wasn't available for reshoots after the distributors found the film short of feature length, so the stock footage was plugged in to pad out the running time), the film is still able to strike a cord. And, to be honest, the stock footage doesn't feel as long as the streaming version I saw. I suspect the length of the military being mobilized might have been added to, in order to extend the running time even further and allow it to be shown on TV.
And it's hard not to see how the film hits all the notes of Invasion of the Body Snatchers, released three years later. Don Siegel made a classic film, but Menzies beat him to it with this one.
Yeah, the old dark woods hiding the Martians never looked better.
I think, even early on, this is the best re-issue of the year. The extras are entertaining, including an interview with star Jimmy Hunt and a comparison with the between the original negative and the 4K restoration. If you're an old school monster movie fan, you need to add this to your collection. And if you've never seen it, you should check it out. It's the reason we all love such films. It's scary, says something about the time it was made. and reinforces why genre films can be such a perfect refection of the times they were made. and how they can continue to influence us to this day. It was remade in 1986 by horror legend Tobe Hooper, and has been homaged in numerous other films. It's perfect nightmare fuel for monster kids of all ages, and this remastered version shows why it should be higher on horror/sci fi fans lists of the best 50s films made.
Even Luigi Cozzi remembers this film. If he's a fan, you should be too!
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